Turki Alalshikh has said Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will have to forfeit $10m if they try to get out of their rearranged fight date of May 1.
Speaking on the MMA Hour following the postponement of the undisputed heavyweight title fight on February 17 after Fury was cut in sparring, Alalshikh said there would be penalties for both Usyk and Fury if either man withdrew from the new May 18 fight date.
“On May 18, we will know whether someone is a coward,” Alalshikh said. “We can deliver the fight. I chose the date, and it is May 18. We have delayed it until May 18.”
“I guarantee both fighters $10m [penalty] if someone escapes from the fight. This is the first thing. The second thing is, I guarantee a big fight on the same night. We will have another one [a big fight]… Make people worldwide know if someone is scared and wants to escape from this fight. On May 18, we will have Tyson vs Usyk.”
Alalshikh addressed Egis Klimas’s comments, after Usyk’s manager branded Fury a coward and intimated that Fury somehow deliberately caused the cut to avoid facing Usyk.
“We are not playing,” Alalshikh added. “If I had 1 per cent thought [Fury] was cheating, I would not be sitting here.
“I know this guy from inside, and I know Usyk from his heart. They both want this fight and want the fans to see it. It happened, it happened before, and it may happen in the future. For that, we guarantee on May 18, and this is the important thing, to have a big fight.”
